Country club lifestyle?

[imoldernu]

There are several hundred over 55 communities in Florida.

https://www.55places.com/florida

While we lucked out, and found the most comfortable place for us, money and lifestyle, we did spend some time before buying in...
That was all long ago, but more recently Son and DIL retired four years ago. Since she retired a month or so earlier than he, it was her job to seek out the right place to retire... in their case full time.
I gave jeanie a break from me, and went with Annie for 10 days to search out possible locations.
A big triangle...Ocala, to Cape Coral to Port St. Lucie, and maybe 25 communities in between. That was after lots of online searches... It was ball!

We kept our eyes open, our ears listening to the residents, and after the first three or four days, she had an idea of what to expect. Cost/people/lifestyle.
They ended up buying in Sarasota... (Lakewood Ranch - Del Webb)... Not my cup of tea, but it was perfect for them and they are now living in their own heaven.

Point being... a few days or a week of looking, filters out the good and the bad. For them... young, active, income right and just the right size. Talking to residents rather than real estate agents. Saved time and the aggravation of 2 hour sales pitches.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We lived in one HOA. Yes they can be like Nazi’s. My stepson lives there too. When he is actively deployed he lets them know because legally they can’t send him any nasty grams to pull a weed, etc. They frequently violate this and then my husband delivers a copy of the law. People were fed up with the board and many came to the meeting to complain. The board decided there were too many people and refused to proceed with the meeting going so far as calling the police to make people leave. That was the last straw and the whole board got voted out. When we owned a condo my husband got on the board so he could be a part of the decision making. We now live in a old city neighborhood that is very popular. Every time a house is sold they are getting updated. Some of the younger people are painting color scheme that I would have never thought of that look really nice. Probably not colors a HOA would allow. I also noticed that people are taking the color of their neighbors houses into consideration so no clashing colors next to each other.

 

[COcheesehead]

Be the change? Yep, that always works... especially in a large HOA.

I see the type of people I am dealing with here.


I've lived in HOA controlled communities most of my adult life. I've seen the things brought up in this thread, citations, controlling board members. I am not ignorant of the problems. I can tell you when problems start: A. people don't read the rules and B. when they don't think that they apply to them.

 

[dirtbiker]

Ok, let me put it another way. Complain and do nothing or be the change you want to see.

This is fair. At this point, I'm just complaining (and won't be living in another HOA in the future). If it gets bad enough, I may try to change things. My ultimate goal is to convince the wife to move.

 

[COcheesehead]

This is fair. At this point, I'm just complaining (and won't be living in another HOA in the future). If it gets bad enough, I may try to change things. My ultimate goal is to convince the wife to move.

 

[pb4uski]

Fun fact about living on a golf course. If the course was there first, then homes were built around the fairways...if someone hits a ball and smashes your window, thats the homeowners problem. The person who hit the ball is not liable, unless it was done maliciously...which would be impossible to prove.

If the homes were there first, and a course was built around the existing homes, then the course would be responsible for any damage done to the home.

The only reason I know is I have a relative who does live on a course. Some lady sprayed a ball in their direction and broke a window. Too bad so sad for the homeowner. It was his problem since the course was there long before homes were built around it. Sucks huh?!

Not correct. It depends.

.... The fact is that the law regarding liability for property damage caused by errant golf balls is hazy at best. The law varies from state to state and often on a case by case basis. Some courts believe that the golfer is always responsible for any damage he/she causes to personal property while golfing. You break a window, you pay for it. The flip side of that coin is that homeowners should bear responsibility for golf ball damage since they assumed obvious risk by deciding to purchase a home near a golf course. Additionally, homeowner’s insurance may handle the damage. In some cases it can be a combination of the two.

There is a third possibility; the golf course itself could be at fault. In some cases, homeowners have brought suit against golf courses and won. The grounds of these lawsuits usually either pertain to a golf course being constructed too near to houses that already exist, or more commonly, they are based on poorly designed holes and tee boxes that place houses in obvious danger that could have been avoided. In these cases, both the golfer and the homeowner may escape liability, even if the courses posted rules stating they are not liable for damages. ...

What Happens if I Hit a House When I’m Golfing? Make Sure to Hit ‘Em Straight! | Pauley Law Group, pllc

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think peoples opinions are fine, guess what, people like GC&Cs and dislike them for a variety of reasons. Personally I would ONLY take input from those that live in a community that I would consider buying into and ignore the Lookie Loes.

A lot of folk around here dislike GC&Cs and are vocal about it because they do not live in one, or cannot afford to live in one or does not want to pay the HOA dues. As mentioned That is certainly the case around these parts as there are quite a few Gated and CC type properties here in NE FLA. Personally IMHO anyone that complains about paying ~$200 - $300 a month for nice landscaping, good roads, good drainage, adequate street lighting, courteous gate guards and whatever has bigger problems.

I think for the most part you get what you pay for, the properties that include medium to higher priced homes that we have lived in, or had friends that live in, have very little complaints, and when they do it is trivial for the most part.

Contrarily those that live in properties with lower priced homes in properties that not surprisingly appear run down, do nothing but complain for the most part. Again we know folks that do.

To cut a long story short, glean from those with experience, find out why they like or dislike them. Then make your own decisions.

That is what we did. What we found was that the complainers would complain about anything, the non complainers tolerated the trivia if there was any. We have one or two folks that is well known for complaining about minutia that does not seem to bother anyone else, they are well known as the complainers. Actually they are nice folk just complainers by nature. I asked one of them why such things bothered him, he really had no solid answer other than they just got up his nose. I also asked him why if he was so bothered why not just move? He said because he liked living here, go figure.

More important in my opinion is the Financial status of a property, if it is good now and historically, and consistent they must be doing something right. If not then there is your answer. I would rather buy into a financially stable environment with a good history and no major pending assessments. I would gladly pay more for a solid balance sheet than the reverse.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I've lived in HOA controlled communities most of my adult life. I've seen the things brought up in this thread, citations, controlling board members. I am not ignorant of the problems. I can tell you when problems start: A. people don't read the rules and B. when they don't think that they apply to them.

Absolutely on target.

If we are considering moving into an HOA community it is our responsibility to get a copy of the rules and read them in advance. I've served on my HOA board and found that some residents don't know or care what the rules are, and these folks usually cause most of the problems.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I can tell you when problems start: A. people don't read the rules and B. when they don't think that they apply to them.

And this applies to so, SO many more things than just HOAs!

We have lived in communities with and without HOAs. Our last house didn't have one, but the zoning/municipal codes were effective in keeping the yards/homes in good shape. Sure, some folks would try and ignore them, but being haled into court usually fixed 'em right up.

Our current community (less than 30 homes) has an HOA and I noticed that some of the covenants weren't being enforced (which are ALL quite reasonable). I made it clear about a week after we moved in that we wouldn't put up with that and the board has dealt with the few issues that we noted. Are we *those* neighbors? Yes, yes we are. We spend a lot of money on this house and are required to pay dues...so if they don't like it, too damn bad.

Our last HOA community was pretty nice when we moved away (in 2012) but we visited a few months ago and most of the covenants were not being followed and I have to assume the board/members just didn't care and weren't having them enforced.

 

[dirtbiker]

You sound like a fun neighbor...

 

[calmloki]

We live 1/2 the year down in La Quinta Ca - dozens of clubs where grown men wander the fields taking mighty whacks at tiny balls - and paying to do so! Really don't get the attraction. Also am not swayed by the benefits of the gated communities. Nice homes, but the restrictions and regulation would just rankle. Kind of like Canada for me - an abundance of well maintained beauty with laws designed to foster the common good, but it would just irk me no end to run afoul of one of those rules and get called on it. And I'm not a rule breaker by nature.

Instead we live in the La Quinta cove with a pretty good cross section of the normal population and a view that beats many of the gated housing developments or golf communities.

 

[Scuba]

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. We are used to living in an HOA and generally appreciate the rules and the Board.

The gated CC communities here are very nice, but we’ve decided we prefer the vibe in Palm Springs. There are many HOA communities here too and we’d likely choose one of those. Palm Springs is more eclectic and diverse than Rancho Mirage, plus we love the views the best in PS.

So far what’s worked well for us us renting nice properties. While it’s tempting to buy, we value the flexibility and lower cost of renting. Haven’t decided yet which way we’ll go. Still looking at property.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

So far what’s worked well for us us renting nice properties. While it’s tempting to buy, we value the flexibility and lower cost of renting. Haven’t decided yet which way we’ll go. Still looking at property.

Do you really think that renting a nice property is more cost effective than buying one? Here homes like ours rent for $3,000 - $3,500 pm Plus, yet running one (No mortgage) is about $1200pm.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

You sound like a fun neighbor...

I haven't had any complaints. If we sit around allow the rules to be broken, eventually there could be an acquiescence issue and then things go downhill and there is little that can be done. I saw this in our last HOA, and it won't happen in our new one. If folks don't like the rules set up, then they shouldn't have AGREED to them.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I haven't had any complaints. If we sit around allow the rules to be broken, eventually there could be an acquiescence issue and then things go downhill and there is little that can be done. I saw this in our last HOA, and it won't happen in our new one. If folks don't like the rules set up, then they shouldn't have AGREED to them.

Agreed, and if one did not bother to read them prior to purchasing, then that is their problem. In general I have found that the rules are there to keep the overall property in good condition and to maintain property prices. After all the HOA Board members live there and are elected by residents, so all involved have a vested interest.

 

[dirtbiker]

I haven't had any complaints. If we sit around allow the rules to be broken, eventually there could be an acquiescence issue and then things go downhill and there is little that can be done. I saw this in our last HOA, and it won't happen in our new one. If folks don't like the rules set up, then they shouldn't have AGREED to them.

You and I have very different outlooks on life and community living. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I lived in a condo the retired old ladies would walk around the property looking for people that are out of compliance. I have better things to do with my time. I got permission to enclose my patio and used a approved contractor . I kept the written approval in my lockbox. When I sold it I gave the owner a copy. A new board got elected and demanded that they all come down despite looking nice and being approved. My buyer could afford to fight in court unlike most of the owners. She had lost the paperwork but I had mine. It dragged on for 2 years and I took off work twice to testify. She can keep it until she sells and then must be removed. Totally not right as back in 1998 it cost 5k for people to enclose 77 sq ft and everyone used the approved contractor. It’s bullying people that are not in a position to fight in court.

 

[ncbill]

And you should bear in mind that the HOA management will change and that it might not be for the better. All it takes if for a narcissistic egomaniac to get in control and populate the board with his buddies...

Here we can't get residents to serve...so it's been the same president, VP, treasurer (me) for over a decade...

Oh, and golf courses go out of business all the time...dad's old condo (which he sold as soon as the writing was on the wall) which used to have a view of a fairway now has a view of the dumpsters at the back of the shopping center built on the old golf course property.

 

[COcheesehead]

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. We are used to living in an HOA and generally appreciate the rules and the Board.

The gated CC communities here are very nice, but we’ve decided we prefer the vibe in Palm Springs. There are many HOA communities here too and we’d likely choose one of those. Palm Springs is more eclectic and diverse than Rancho Mirage, plus we love the views the best in PS.

So far what’s worked well for us us renting nice properties. While it’s tempting to buy, we value the flexibility and lower cost of renting. Haven’t decided yet which way we’ll go. Still looking at property.

Rents go up. Mortgages go down.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

When I lived in a condo the retired old ladies would walk around the property looking for people that are out of compliance.

Because of diversity, CCs do have the odd busybody, but most folk have better things to do. They typically have one bee in their bonnet like speeding in front of their home when the grandkids are visiting or that kind of thing. No one as far as I know goes around looking for anything in particular to whine about. This is a reflection on the type of residents I think.

That is my worry about moving to a 55+ type environment where folks get to the point where they do not have better things to do. G&CCs seem to be less prone I think as residents are there mainly for the Golf (Not us but most) and that combined with the fact that it is not age restricted keeps them all busy. We have a diverse age group, and all are professional or retired professional types, at least the ones we know.

 

[Teacher Terry]

This was originally senior condos that went to all ages. We didn’t have kids because they weren’t allowed to play on the grounds. There was a small group of busybodys. I was 45 when I bought in. Some of the older residents were wealthy but not the rest. Just average people.

 

[Scuba]

Do you really think that renting a nice property is more cost effective than buying one? Here homes like ours rent for $3,000 - $3,500 pm Plus, yet running one (No mortgage) is about $1200pm.

Well, IMO you have to consider what it took to buy the property. Just using round numbers, if you took $500K out of investments to buy a property and you were averaging a relatively conservative 6% return, it costs $30K/year of foregone returns, compounded, plus the $1,200/month. So yes, I think renting is cheaper than buying, even though rents do go up.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, IMO you have to consider what it took to buy the property. Just using round numbers, if you took $500K out of investments to buy a property and you were averaging a relatively conservative 6% return, it costs $30K/year of foregone returns, compounded, plus the $1,200/month. So yes, I think renting is cheaper than buying, even though rents do go up.

Especially when it comes to costly repairs on said $500K house.

 

[dirtbiker]

But, depending on where you buy, real estate can and does appreciate, and you are left with real assets after spending many years paying your mortgage. Rent, however, is gone after it is spent... Of course, the money saved by renting can be invested...

Either way, my foray into real estate didn't go well for me, so I'm not too keen on investing in real estate again. I own my house I live in, and that's all I ever have plans on doing.

 

[naysmitj]

Go for it. We have a house and a cottage backing on 2seperate courses. We play social golf with neighbors. You will love it!